Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-01-14
CHANGES IN THE wS.


men and Others.
70 the Editor of he Free Press.
In looking over the Public Acts" of
che last legislature designated for pub
location in the newspapers" noticed sew
eral changes in existing laws IA well as
some new ones BY means of this pub
LEGATION, the more important acts of our
legislature are placed within the reach of
all the reading people of the state. Never
Jheless think very large per cent Of
the people do not give it as close study as
shey should Especially is this true of
some of our town officials In 1884 an act
was passed raising the rate per cent of
The grand list of what is known as the
state school tax from nine per cent to Il
per cent, subject to the same provision in
reference to the United States deposit
money. In quite a number of towns
understand this law has never revealed it
self but the tax has been made up under
The old law of nine per cent. 1t would
perhaps be well for such towns to look up
the penalty for such neglect. In 1882 the
legislature appOrtioued the state and
county tax according to the population of
She cities and towns, In 1884 this was
changed back to the grand list basis, ana
this is to be the basis FOR apportoning
state and county taxes Tor the next two
Fears.
The highway tax is changed from 20 to
70 per cent on the grand list and is to be
paid in money, and is to be expended un-
der the direction of the selectmen or com
nissiOuers. If commissioners are select
ed we have slight hitch In the law, as
act No provides that any of the past
year tax remaining uncOleCted shall be
collected in money and expended under
the direction of the selectmen, thus hay
ing two sets of officers to do the work in
tended for one.
The office of highway surveyor is abol-
.sned. This act takes effect, believe, the
I1rst day of January consequently we
nave no highway surveyors in the state
1t does not provide who shall have charge
Of the highway, in towns that have voted
10 pay their highway tax in labor under
the direction of highway surveyors from
January LIST to March LIST or until commits.
sionerS are elected. The selectmen will
doubtless have to attend to this until
commissioners are elected but would it
NOT have been better to have continued
me Office OF highway surveyor until our
next annual March meeting?
The recent acts in reference to the study
of scientific temperance in our public
schools provides for text books upon this
subject to be furnished and paid for by
.he state. But by previous act the text
book committee of each town were re
CURED TO enter into "a contract with pub
fishers of such books a they might select
lpou this subject, to furnish such books
for five years from lSs4 y wv can towns
avail themselves Of tins offer of the state
without laying themselves liable to the
publishers OF such books rs they have
already made contracts with, and which
contracts do not expire until 1899 ?
in rett 20 the fish question it is
perhaps '.", : to say anything, except,
perhaps, that The close season for fishing
with hook and line is changed from
June 18th to June |. This was done no
doubt III order to accommodate the sport
ing fraternity who did not like to wait so
long in the spring to enjoy their piscato.
rial sport. Perhaps they will not care
now, as our Legislature has adjourned, if
make pubic the in formation that Canada
has repealed the law in reference to pro
1ibltlnQ fishing with seines in MisssGuoi
bay, and that the fishermen there can Oh
AIN license for seine fishing as formerly
rust these published acts, for which
1he State pays quite a sum of money in
order 10 place them before the people
will be carefully studied, and remember
thar the revised laws contains the acts
only up TO 1850 with part of the acts of
that year and that our legislatures have
thought proper to change some of these
avs since that time. HIS.
Alburgh, VT, January 3, 1887